I've been buying offbrand bricks for a while and not really swayed by the copyright issues. First, Lego doesn't have a patent on bricks anymore. There is nothing illegal about producing Lego style bricks. Now, the minifigs are supposedly a trademark for Lego, but imo trademark law at least in the US is often used to bypass copyright/patents. You could make the argument that the manual and box are copyrighted and you would have a case there. But, the bricks and the design itself? Not really. This is especially true when Lego publishes all the manuals on its website. So, if you simply bought all the off brand bricks from a place like webrick, but used your computer for the manual it would be legal, but because they put it together into a single box it's not? That isn't exactly a logical defense. Also, despite trying to rewrite history, Lego itself started as a knock off company and stole the design of bricks from Kiddicraft (and even stole the design of sets too). That's not to say Lego hadn't improved the design over time and developed the minifig and all sorts of crazy pieces. But, the beginning itself was rather shady and no different than modern "knock offs", so Lego doesn't really have the moral high ground here. The set looks great though. I've been tempted to get it, but budget for bricks is low right now lol. All the new City space sets from Lego tapped me out. BTW, you need to watch the Lord of the Rings movies asap. They are incredible, and imo the greatest movies ever made. The are very long, especially if you watch the extended editions (and you should), but you will be shocked after watching the first movie that it ended. You will want to immediately watch the next to find out what happens. And the last movie is just incredible.
Thank you very much for sharing. There is a lot of great info in your comment. Those who read it will be given something to think about. I appreciate the time it took for you to post it. Of all the comments, yours is the first to tell me to watch the movies. 🤣 Once the football season is over, I will watch them. Thanks for the recommendation and the comment.😊
You're using a diversionary tactic thereby avoiding the key issue, which is that it's a blatant rip-off. Not only from the LOTR franchise who gets royalties from Lego, but also from Lego designers specifically and Lego as a company in general. Whether or not Lego has made the same errors in the past is utterly irrelevant for the issues at hand. It's a fallacy. You can't justify something by simply pointing to something that was wrong in the first place. In addition, Lego publishes the manuals on it's website as a service to it's customers and as a repository in general. Your argument is illogical. Like: if I took all the effort to collect a thousand different pieces from the internet and constructed it myself than it's okay, but if someone makes a 1:1 copy than it's illegal? Y, kinda logical dude, but no one does because it takes a fckton of time and isn't fun to do in the first place. Addendum: the greatest movies ever made? Please. Not even close. Not even in the direction of close. Adding to that, the books are way better. So if any advice: read the books. Don't watch the movies. P.S. : sorry if I made some errors in my (ab)use of the English language. I'm not a native speaker although I'm quite proficient.
@@jeroen5410 well, if we are going to get technical, copyright and patent laws are not international laws, but based on country of origin. There are reciprocity agreements in many nations, but that is not universal. So, in reality, it depends on where you live whether it is illegal or not. And legally past actions are not a factor, but morally past actions are a huge factor. Many Lego purists act like Lego has no faults, but that is in contrast to its very origin which is based on violating intellectual property. But again, what is the main argument? Buying a collection of loose bricks that are all the pieces needed to make the set is not illegal. Bricks are not under a patent anymore, so the bricks themselves are not illegal. Now, the manual, the box art? That could be based on the country, but is not universal.
@@wesandell There is only one real (moral) issue and that's that your ripping off other people. Is that something you can condone considering that you classify morally past actions as a huge factor? I thought so :)
@@jeroen5410 my issue is the hypocrisy. Lego purists get all up in arms about stuff like this, but completely ignore, downplay, or even flat out deny Lego's origins. The inventor of Kiddicraft ended himself because his business collapsed after Lego came out. I love Lego, and I agree that knock offs like this are...questionable at the very least. However, Lego is not the morally pure company it claims to be. They hold a near monopoly in the west, even after being around for what...90 years? Why is that? Copyright, patent, and trademark laws in the US are ridiculous and mostly due to Disney and other huge corporations trying to protect their brand and not really about the original creator being fairly compensated for their ingenuity.
I'm impressed by the quality of the Jie Star sets, again. I own a Jie Star set or two, but original designs by Jie Star themselves, and they are great for little money! For someone who is not a fan of LotR but more about the actual building experience and parts, I think this is a great alternative to the expensive LEGO set. I think the reselling value of the LEGO set and figures is better though, that's why I'll end up going for the LEGO Rivendell eventually. I guess however, if one doesn't care for the LotR characters, one could buy the LEGO one and resell the minifigures and would also end up spending around 200-250$/€. So buying the original LEGO set or buying the Jie Star one and replacing the figures with the higher quality LEGO figures will set you back the same amount, I think.
It really was an impressive build. Like you said, I have no sentimental attachment to LOTR and thus the bad minifigs are not a big deal to me. You are correct regarding resale, this set has little to no value, where as the value of the Lego set will increase over time. I like your math. Thank you for your comment. 😊
Thank you for your review! Ive done some alternative brick sets years ago when quality and missing parts was more of an issue so Im still leary about buying larger 3rd party sets but its great to see how far the quality has come over the years. I dont normally care about mini figs but I think on set like this getting the mini figs right is a deal breaker (for me) and sadly these arent quite up to par for me so I think I'll be sticking with the official lego set for this one. Does this set have numbered bags for each step like the official set or is it just random pieces in bags? All the sets Ive done in the past were fan mocs so no numbered steps sadly which makes these larger sets a real pain to sort and build which takes a lot of the fun out of it lol.
Thank you for watching 😀 There are definitely some sets still around with quality issues but I am starting to know what to look for. I do understand minfigs are important for certain sets. This set did have numbered bags so that was amazing for such a large set.
Yeah I really can’t get on board with this. I get Lego is expensive but making direct copies is just wrong. Especially when Lego designers put so much time and effort into making quality products, it just seems unfair for another company to take advantage of this. But nice review nonetheless
I completely understand and I certainly appreciate your comments. I have no issue with retired Lego sets from a 3rd party, but this was the first time I did set that was still in production and it has certainly started a debate. Thank you for stopping by. 😊
If only LEGO actually compensated said designers fairly and didn't take sets out of production early to drive up prices in a third party seller market that neither benefits them nor the designers... You buy a >400% hiked boxed set off of amazon, no designer is going to see a penny, you know that right?
Considering when Lego FIRST started they technically made copies of Kiddicraft blocks and sold them under a different name, so why is it any different now?? And there is no reference on the LEGO website of LEGO) acknowledging they took their inspiration from Hilary Page, the founder of Kiddicraft. Morally and ethically I see no issue in buying dupes from other companies until such a time that LEGO openly states on their website WHERE they got their "brick" idea from.
Lego did an amazing job designing this set! 🥰 And JieStar did a good job stealing it. 😅 It's not as big of an issue when another company makes similar bricks, although I don't feel comfortable with them copying the exact same shapes, but outright replicating a set design is unacceptable to me.
I understand what you are saying and thank you for sharing🥰. I am on the fence about this, especially when I consider Lego's bloated prices. My husband doesn't care in the least. He buys the cheap toilet paper because it does the same thing as the expensive stuff. Admittedly, it is not as good as the big brand, but the job is done and at a fraction of the price. This set cost the same as a PS5. Lego pricing is a big part of their own problem.
Watched the movies, not a fan at all but this set is stunning just as an aesthetic build. Would definitely buy if i had the space. Great video as always
Really want this set but put off from the large price tag. Very interesting review, normally in my fakes the minifigs look even worse and this was an acceptable level. Might consider!
This was certainly controversial, being it is still in production.🤔 I am really happy with the finished product and the price was hard to beat. The minifigs were certainly acceptable. Thanks for the support 😀
I have Lego Rivendell and love it! So, I agree that this feels a little wrong for those of us who shelled out the money for it. That said, Lego does seem to “copy” set designs, too. Or, at least they’ve been accused of it. It’s just what I see on RUclips. But, I appreciate it when other people design their own or improve a set (turn into a mod, etc.). Personally, I did not like the backs of the trees, especially the ones towards the rear of the set, and I even bought extra pieces to “smooth” it out. It would be nice if they made it a little different/improve things, but I guess that defeats the purpose of them making a product that’s an exact copy without all the design time and overhead, even for changes, thus able to make it cheaper. Lego’s instructions even tell you to use the straight piece to align the roof pieces, too. I don’t regret buying Rivendell, though, as it’s my favorite set from Lego (oh, and the botanical roses and 💐, winter sets…ok, I like Lego a lot, so I must be biased).😊
There are pros and cons to buying knock offs. I would normally only get sets that have already retired, like the modulars. I absolutely love this set, even knowing very little about Lordof the Rings, it was all the great details and colors that caught my eye. If I was a Lord of the Rings fan, I probably would have wanted only the original but I thoroughy enjoyed this none the less. Thank you for sharing.
I'm building another off-brand brand's version right now and even though there are always some random little parts missing or substituted, I'm so happy I get to experience building this set. I'm about 65% done now after building a little bit at a time for the past couple of days, and it's been a blast. The only thing that feels bootlegged about this is the minifig head prints, somehow it's a law that those always have to be dismal.
I agree. The difference in quality is more than made up for in the price. The feelings I get building Lego all transferred to this clone set. It was really enjoyable. Thanks for the comment. 🙂
Great review! Have never bought anything from Aliexpress before but I'm thinking of getting alt bricks from there now. How safe is it and what are the safest ways to buy from there?
AliExpress can be tricky if your not familiar with the platform. This is a link to a excellent guide for buying bricks on AliExpress. docs.google.com/document/d/1TApv0EhSMiZsrqH1xZxDE7LLSGgZPIlAmmiujHfq2U0/edit?pli=1#heading=h.w7p6vvm9th9k Try checking out some independent retailers like Cada decadastore.com/collections/cada-bricks or Youmko youmko.com/ Before you do any of this, you REALLY should check out the Reddit Lepin Starter Guide, it is a long read but this info and so much more can be found in it. www.reddit.com/r/lepin/comments/lqdiar/the_starter_guide/ Start with a small purchase until you find a place you are comfortable. Thanks for the feedback. 😊
As ALWAYS, I loved the video. So much so, that I'm going to go ahead and order one. Now you said you ordered it from AliExpress, correct? Again, the price is usually always good from them, but the delivery time scares me. How long did it take you to receive it and did you go standard shipping or expedited? Any advice on using them? Thanks and keep these great videos coming. Love them.
It took about 3-4 weeks to arrive with regular shipping. We don't buy much on Ali anymore, our trusted seller has closed shop and others didn't have ratings I was comfortable with. Resellers like Youmko, Herotoyz(Save 7% if you use code SheClicksBricks), or Jooooy offer us better piece of mind especially for things like shipping or piece replacement. These shops offer different shipping options(local warehouses or speeds) and accept paypal. You may need to create an account to see the replica sets. I hope this helps. Thank you for your support🥰
@@SheClicksBricks Thank you so much. I will give the sellers you mentioned a shot. I really am not a fan of AliExpress, but their prices are enticing. But if these other sellers are just as competitive, I'm in. Thanks again...........Tommy
Thank you for the video!! I’m thinking about picking one of these up from Aliexpress, and your video was perfect!! Also, if you haven’t already, I would highly recommend watching the lord of the rings movies. Start with the normal theatrical editions, and if you like them then try out the extended versions!!
Glad you found it helpful. If you cant find it on Ali, try HeroToyz or Youmko. If you use discount code SheClicksBricks at HeroToyz, you will save 7%. I did end up watching the first one. I was really good.😊
Bought this one and another big set on temu. I’m totally cool with the quality, get this one for 120,- usd. Never would have bought the Lego one for around 500,-
I apologize if I asked this already, or maybe just missed it, but who did you say you bought this set from? I was on Joy's site and was going to buy it, but they had a different way of using Paypal and I was a little skeptical. I always use PayPal when shopping online, but this time you had to go to their Paypal site, and again, I was a little leary of that. Have you used PayPal on their site with no problems?... Thanks...........
This was an Aliexpress purchase. Herotoyz and Youmko both have the traditional PayPal. Not sure why joy is like that. I do get it, It is important to be comfortable with your purchase.
@tommyloreto6458 Any time. I'll help if I can. Have you checked out Lepin sub category on reddit? They have so much info in the pinned starter guide. I am on Lepin daily, just reading and learning.
@@SheClicksBricks, I haven't done so yet, but I will. Again, thank you so much for all your advice. I'm so sorry, but I didn't catch your first name. Every time I thank you, I want to address you by your name but I don't know it. :-)
Thanks for posting this. This is something I recently started to look into with my son growing older, and LEGO frankly is out of their mind with their pricing. The legal issues (allegedly) aren't a priority for me personally, if the "knock offs" are an issue. Lego can sort it out in court. Haha. Its great to see that I can share this hobby with him without busting the bank.
You are very welcome. The pricing of Lego forced us in this direction as well. Welcome to the dark side🤣. If you are just getting into this side, I recommend you check out this video to help speed up the learning curve. ruclips.net/video/G2bJl0_fzNs/видео.html and check the links in the description to find some trusted sellers and other great resources. Here is a little something extra: Companies(Brands) that use GoBricks are very high quality and extremely tough to tell the difference with Lego. i.e. Pantasy, Mould King and Funwhole. Companies( Brands) like Cobi, Cada and LesDiy use there own bricks and the quality is still excellent. Most Lego knockoffs are done by other companies Such as Jiestar, King and Leji. The brick quality isn't as good, but still well beyond acceptable to for the most part. Thank you for the support.🥰
Thanks for posting this, saw them on Temu. What are others Large size non.lego sets you'd be getting next ? Maybe if you subs those connecting pieces with Lego part if any improvement
Your welcome. We are actually running a poll right now on the community page to decide the next build. We also posted a short. I would love your input. 😊ruclips.net/user/shortshNmtzFAgjwQ?si=CD_QeFzdJKfs5Vsz Thank you for the Tip.😊 Thank you for the support 😊
Thank you🥰. That is so nice of you to say. I hope to see and hear from you in the future. Feedback is always good to hear, positive certainly makes me feel good and negative feedback can make me better😊.
@@SheClicksBricks Well I don't think the internet needs anymore negativity floating around so let's keep it all positive 👍. Well you have a new subscriber so no doubt I will be around. Have a great day!
After waiting almost two months my fake Rivendell set finally arrived from China. Cant complain for $76. Can I ask, did yours come in three big bags with multiple bags inside ??
Wow. That is a long time but glad to hear it finally arrived. 🥰 We actually paid a bit extra to get a printed box so from what I remember, it was packed just like Lego.
@SheClicksBricks yea that was the longest I have ever waited. Most stuff comes in 7 days. I watched your unboxing vid and mine must be a different brand as the bags look different and the instructions are smaller. I use the lego app anyway so no biggy.
@@grant666uk The popular K.O. sets get remade all time time and the quality almost always improves with the remakes. I have my fingers crossed you got a good one. Do you happen to know who made yours?
Lego sets today quite often average 7-9 cents per part cost. Maybe cheaper with points and freebees. 40+ years ago when I started receiving Lego sets the per piece average was about 10-13 cents. What has changed the most is the number of pieces that come in each set. A large set 40 years ago was 500 pieces. Today a 500 piece set would look lame when put up against Rivendale. If a person wants to gripe then go right ahead and buy that 200-300 piece set that is cheaper today than 40 years ago while everything else in life increases with inflation...the per piece cost leading to high set prices is not the issue like so many believe. Its just larger and larger sets being produced. Without Lego producing these sets and the purists who will buy them then all these chinese vultures would simply have nothing to produce. Also consider that Lego absorbs all the design costs while the chinese just suck off the rear tit
Cause and effect🤔. I will add that many of the Chinese manufactures also produce their own licensed sets, and the price difference is still questionable. CaDA Bricks has a licensed F1 car(Alfa Romeo) that is much better than the Lego F1 Maclaren (hubby built them both) and is $100 cheaper. Thank you very much for sharing 😊.
I have a few off brand sets. Aside from the minifigs, the quality has been good for the price, but not quite to LEGO standards. This is a halo set for me, and as much as it’s going to hurt, I’m going to have to drop the $$$ for the real deal on this one. It’s going to be the pinnacle of my collection. I’m waiting for a good purchase promo.
Only apparently this this cheaper then Lego. The lego set will retain its value and even grow in 5 or 10 years. After the same period of time i'm not sure you can sell this set with a profit like the Lego's one.
If the original ends up costing a grand and you sell a knock off for half that, even if second hand, there will be some people interested. There are a lot of old sets that are hard to find and I'd be willing to buy if someone made good-enough similar-looking knock-offs.
@@LutraLovegood You have a good point😊. Jiestar and King make decent knockoffs. There a few others as well. Youmko and Jooooy are my current go to resellers. The sub reddit Lepin has an excellent starter guide for Alternative Bricks
See how much money Lego is making? I know they have to pay designers and all that, but it's still a huge difference. I have a few knock offs as well and you can barely tell the difference. Great buy! Replace the clip with a real Lego one from bricklink.
The mark up is certainly hard to ignore😒. I have Alternative brick sets of retired Lego sets(Modulars) and I have no issue with them building or presenting them. This was my first time getting one that is still in production and it wasn't an easy decision. But ultimately it is part of my journey and as such we documented it. Thank you for the clip tip and the the support. 🥰
Tony, by buying and showing this kind of rip off sets this channel actually makes Lego more expensive because they have to lawyer up even more. I like competition and the more brands bringing sets the better. But ripping off designs from Lego (or even from MOCreators) is a real sad thing. I can’t stand it. I kinda liked the review but i won’t come back to this channel
The build looks like you could just Download the Rivendell Lego Instructions and put it together. The pieces and build look identical. Nice to see that there are more companies out there putting out the quality for a more affordable price. The clip issue is not much different with Lego set either. I had to go through a few of my stash extra clips to see if I could get a better connection. The printed though not as vibrant, still looked good. The beard/hairpiece issue with the dwarves is a big miss though sadly, but then for how much you saved, you could buy the actual minifigs and still be ahead.
The online Lego instructions do match step for step. I did not know that about the clip. Thank you. People are being priced out of Lego, and that is a problem Lego needs to address. Thank you for your support. 😊
Considering when Lego FIRST started they technically made copies of Kiddicraft blocks and sold them under a different name, so why is it any different now?? And there is no reference on the LEGO website of LEGO) acknowledging they took their inspiration from Hilary Page, the founder of Kiddicraft. Morally and ethically I see no issue in buying dupes from other companies until such a time that LEGO openly states on their website WHERE they got their "brick" idea from. And saying you have an issue with it is like saying you have an issue with a major supermarket selling apples and the local corner store selling apples. An apple is an apple. One is more affordable than the other. One might be green and one might be red. But an apple is an apple - regardless of where it is sold 🤷🏼♀
I wander if you expected to backlash with this set. It is true that this being a direct copy is a terrible ripoff but living in Asia I know what this supports and Lego would have no part of. From us Lego fans it is the part that scares us of the fakes. Yes they do get out this way.
It certainly is controversial and to be honest some backlash was expected. It has sparked some fantastic conversation from both sides. Thank you for your comment. 😊
I am so happy to find these alternative options and I realy wanted this set. I just could not justify the price. Itnwas a great build and I hope you enjoy it. $80 is Amazing!!! Thank you for sharing ☺
Some of these comments are interesting. It should be understood that LEGO loses nothing here. They were already not going to get a sale from folk turning to alt-bricks. So if anything a person that may have missed out now has a chance to get a legit copy cause another person didn’t buy it. But if it’s so wrong why are MOC instructions being sold for licensed items? Take for example a UCS Star Wars Ghost. LEGO has never made one but it does have a license owner. I guarantee you the MOCer is not paying Disney/Lucasfilm any royalties. But theyre happy to sell you the plans for their benefit only. Where is the outrage for something like that? By the very same metric it’s just as wrong. Same goes for folk selling custom clone trooper helmets. Doesn’t matter if it’s from legit LEGO pieces, once a third party sells it LEGO is no longer in the transaction loop and no royalties are being paid to the license holder either. Calling it custom doesnt not make it IP appropriation. Same metric but not a peep from the folk disapproving of alt bricks. We have a word for that in English.
This is very well thought out and makes a lot of sense. I was never paying $650 for Lego Rivendell. The Alt brick one fit our budget, so we got it. I was never buying private plane but flying economy fits my budget. Thank you for sharing and Thank you for your support.🥰
Awesome video, great info on the Jiestar Riverdell. Excellent review, love seeing more people talk about alternative brands. I primarily buy alternative brands myself, such as Pantasy, funwhole, Cada, Mould king and Reobrix. Keep showing the world, alternative brands😊
Thank you so much for the compliment. Your support is appreciated. ❤️ I started out with LEGO but for as much as I like to build , I am happy to have found a more cost effective alternative.
I completely understand. I myself have no problem buying off brand of retired Lego sets, but a set currently in production, this was new territory for me. 🤔
I could never afford sets like Rivendell and Lion Knights' Castle, so if you're worried about the big corporation losing money, that's probably not true for most people who are buying these. It's either off-brand or nothing at all, nobody's losing any money because of me. The president of Lego's net worth is $6.75 billion, don't worry about him. Let me have access to these sets.
Actively promoting a company that directly rips off another company is a disgrace. The reason this set is $200 vs the $600+ is JieStar does not pay for the LOTR licensing nor does it pay the countless Lego designers that no doubt worked over a year to pull the original design off. I see you are not affraid of reviewing other direct Lego copied sets. I hope Lego reaches out to you and educates you the harm copyright infringment does to a company and it's customers. Before you complain about how expensive real Lego has gotten, it's because of shadey companies like JieStar that drive the prices up on authentic Lego sets and makes it harder to attract quality designers with original creative ideas to come and work for them.
You have some good points and all points in which I have wrestled. Lego has no direct competition and therefore charge what they want. I would argue as much if not more goes into video game design and production i.e. Madden, FIFA etc., Yet they are a fraction of the price of this Lego set. There is a debate that needs to be had, I am just not sure this is the place. I respect your comment and hope you comment on more videos in the future. Healthy conversation is always encouraged. 🙂
There are licensed LOTR videogames that took more people multiple years to design and they were priced $60 at most. Add the $200 worth of plastic and prints and you're not even halfway there. It's insane that you blame other companies for Lego's prices when they make a new profit record in the billions every single year. And yet they still decided to raise their prices, all while spending less money on the actual production, with prints disappearing, more colour consistency issues, moving factories from Europe to China, etc.
It's very naive to assume that Lego raise the prices because they "lawyer up" for legal battles with knock-offs from Asia. I don't appreciate complete copies of complex Lego sets with great designs but I understand why some people are going to pick this over much more expensive original set. To each their own, people vote with their money and for some it's a better option to settle on cheaper knock-off with lesser quality than not to buy anything at all. Also I'm sure Jie-Star won't be making a bank with this set, it's still quite expensive and pretty niche for sales to be really big.
The president of lego is worth 6.5 billion and is the richest person in Denmark. Oh no but now he is poor because someone couldn't afford his overpriced products and got an affordable copy. It's true. I just called Denmark and they say Kjeld Christiansen is now on welfare, directly because of this video.
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I've been buying offbrand bricks for a while and not really swayed by the copyright issues. First, Lego doesn't have a patent on bricks anymore. There is nothing illegal about producing Lego style bricks. Now, the minifigs are supposedly a trademark for Lego, but imo trademark law at least in the US is often used to bypass copyright/patents. You could make the argument that the manual and box are copyrighted and you would have a case there. But, the bricks and the design itself? Not really. This is especially true when Lego publishes all the manuals on its website. So, if you simply bought all the off brand bricks from a place like webrick, but used your computer for the manual it would be legal, but because they put it together into a single box it's not? That isn't exactly a logical defense. Also, despite trying to rewrite history, Lego itself started as a knock off company and stole the design of bricks from Kiddicraft (and even stole the design of sets too). That's not to say Lego hadn't improved the design over time and developed the minifig and all sorts of crazy pieces. But, the beginning itself was rather shady and no different than modern "knock offs", so Lego doesn't really have the moral high ground here. The set looks great though. I've been tempted to get it, but budget for bricks is low right now lol. All the new City space sets from Lego tapped me out.
BTW, you need to watch the Lord of the Rings movies asap. They are incredible, and imo the greatest movies ever made. The are very long, especially if you watch the extended editions (and you should), but you will be shocked after watching the first movie that it ended. You will want to immediately watch the next to find out what happens. And the last movie is just incredible.
Thank you very much for sharing. There is a lot of great info in your comment. Those who read it will be given something to think about. I appreciate the time it took for you to post it. Of all the comments, yours is the first to tell me to watch the movies. 🤣 Once the football season is over, I will watch them. Thanks for the recommendation and the comment.😊
You're using a diversionary tactic thereby avoiding the key issue, which is that it's a blatant rip-off. Not only from the LOTR franchise who gets royalties from Lego, but also from Lego designers specifically and Lego as a company in general. Whether or not Lego has made the same errors in the past is utterly irrelevant for the issues at hand. It's a fallacy. You can't justify something by simply pointing to something that was wrong in the first place. In addition, Lego publishes the manuals on it's website as a service to it's customers and as a repository in general. Your argument is illogical. Like: if I took all the effort to collect a thousand different pieces from the internet and constructed it myself than it's okay, but if someone makes a 1:1 copy than it's illegal? Y, kinda logical dude, but no one does because it takes a fckton of time and isn't fun to do in the first place.
Addendum: the greatest movies ever made? Please. Not even close. Not even in the direction of close. Adding to that, the books are way better. So if any advice: read the books. Don't watch the movies.
P.S. : sorry if I made some errors in my (ab)use of the English language. I'm not a native speaker although I'm quite proficient.
@@jeroen5410 well, if we are going to get technical, copyright and patent laws are not international laws, but based on country of origin. There are reciprocity agreements in many nations, but that is not universal. So, in reality, it depends on where you live whether it is illegal or not. And legally past actions are not a factor, but morally past actions are a huge factor. Many Lego purists act like Lego has no faults, but that is in contrast to its very origin which is based on violating intellectual property.
But again, what is the main argument? Buying a collection of loose bricks that are all the pieces needed to make the set is not illegal. Bricks are not under a patent anymore, so the bricks themselves are not illegal. Now, the manual, the box art? That could be based on the country, but is not universal.
@@wesandell There is only one real (moral) issue and that's that your ripping off other people. Is that something you can condone considering that you classify morally past actions as a huge factor? I thought so :)
@@jeroen5410 my issue is the hypocrisy. Lego purists get all up in arms about stuff like this, but completely ignore, downplay, or even flat out deny Lego's origins. The inventor of Kiddicraft ended himself because his business collapsed after Lego came out. I love Lego, and I agree that knock offs like this are...questionable at the very least. However, Lego is not the morally pure company it claims to be. They hold a near monopoly in the west, even after being around for what...90 years? Why is that? Copyright, patent, and trademark laws in the US are ridiculous and mostly due to Disney and other huge corporations trying to protect their brand and not really about the original creator being fairly compensated for their ingenuity.
I'm impressed by the quality of the Jie Star sets, again. I own a Jie Star set or two, but original designs by Jie Star themselves, and they are great for little money!
For someone who is not a fan of LotR but more about the actual building experience and parts, I think this is a great alternative to the expensive LEGO set. I think the reselling value of the LEGO set and figures is better though, that's why I'll end up going for the LEGO Rivendell eventually.
I guess however, if one doesn't care for the LotR characters, one could buy the LEGO one and resell the minifigures and would also end up spending around 200-250$/€. So buying the original LEGO set or buying the Jie Star one and replacing the figures with the higher quality LEGO figures will set you back the same amount, I think.
It really was an impressive build. Like you said, I have no sentimental attachment to LOTR and thus the bad minifigs are not a big deal to me. You are correct regarding resale, this set has little to no value, where as the value of the Lego set will increase over time. I like your math. Thank you for your comment. 😊
Thank you for your review! Ive done some alternative brick sets years ago when quality and missing parts was more of an issue so Im still leary about buying larger 3rd party sets but its great to see how far the quality has come over the years. I dont normally care about mini figs but I think on set like this getting the mini figs right is a deal breaker (for me) and sadly these arent quite up to par for me so I think I'll be sticking with the official lego set for this one. Does this set have numbered bags for each step like the official set or is it just random pieces in bags? All the sets Ive done in the past were fan mocs so no numbered steps sadly which makes these larger sets a real pain to sort and build which takes a lot of the fun out of it lol.
Thank you for watching 😀 There are definitely some sets still around with quality issues but I am starting to know what to look for. I do understand minfigs are important for certain sets. This set did have numbered bags so that was amazing for such a large set.
Hola, escribo desde Madrid (España) He visto que no ha colocado el anillo en el pin de la mesa ¿????? ¿no venía el anillo en el set? Un saludo Santi
Honestly. I can't even rembember Sorry. 🥰
Yeah I really can’t get on board with this. I get Lego is expensive but making direct copies is just wrong. Especially when Lego designers put so much time and effort into making quality products, it just seems unfair for another company to take advantage of this. But nice review nonetheless
I completely understand and I certainly appreciate your comments. I have no issue with retired Lego sets from a 3rd party, but this was the first time I did set that was still in production and it has certainly started a debate. Thank you for stopping by. 😊
If only LEGO actually compensated said designers fairly and didn't take sets out of production early to drive up prices in a third party seller market that neither benefits them nor the designers...
You buy a >400% hiked boxed set off of amazon, no designer is going to see a penny, you know that right?
@@danjal87nl How do you reckon that Lego doesn't compensate its designers fairly? Any sources?
Considering when Lego FIRST started they technically made copies of Kiddicraft blocks and sold them under a different name, so why is it any different now?? And there is no reference on the LEGO website of LEGO) acknowledging they took their inspiration from Hilary Page, the founder of Kiddicraft. Morally and ethically I see no issue in buying dupes from other companies until such a time that LEGO openly states on their website WHERE they got their "brick" idea from.
Then Lego should do better with their pricing. You price gouge, you get bootlegged for half
Lego did an amazing job designing this set! 🥰 And JieStar did a good job stealing it. 😅
It's not as big of an issue when another company makes similar bricks, although I don't feel comfortable with them copying the exact same shapes, but outright replicating a set design is unacceptable to me.
I understand what you are saying and thank you for sharing🥰. I am on the fence about this, especially when I consider Lego's bloated prices. My husband doesn't care in the least. He buys the cheap toilet paper because it does the same thing as the expensive stuff. Admittedly, it is not as good as the big brand, but the job is done and at a fraction of the price. This set cost the same as a PS5. Lego pricing is a big part of their own problem.
@@SheClicksBricks Yeah, I can certainly see the appeal of buying copycat products in this economy!
@@Moshugaani yeah sadly the economy is tough on many people.
Enjoyed your vid a lot! Keep up the good work
Thank you and that you so much for the support ☺
Watched the movies, not a fan at all but this set is stunning just as an aesthetic build. Would definitely buy if i had the space. Great video as always
This set is stunning and so fun to build. Thank you for the support 🥰
Really want this set but put off from the large price tag. Very interesting review, normally in my fakes the minifigs look even worse and this was an acceptable level. Might consider!
This was certainly controversial, being it is still in production.🤔 I am really happy with the finished product and the price was hard to beat. The minifigs were certainly acceptable. Thanks for the support 😀
I wish I had the space for this one. Might still pick it up once Lego retires the official set - hard to pass up 6,000 bricks for only £100.
The foot print for this is pretty big. It really is a beautiful set and a top notch build. It will be worth the wait. 😊
I have Lego Rivendell and love it! So, I agree that this feels a little wrong for those of us who shelled out the money for it.
That said, Lego does seem to “copy” set designs, too. Or, at least they’ve been accused of it. It’s just what I see on RUclips.
But, I appreciate it when other people design their own or improve a set (turn into a mod, etc.).
Personally, I did not like the backs of the trees, especially the ones towards the rear of the set, and I even bought extra pieces to “smooth” it out. It would be nice if they made it a little different/improve things, but I guess that defeats the purpose of them making a product that’s an exact copy without all the design time and overhead, even for changes, thus able to make it cheaper. Lego’s instructions even tell you to use the straight piece to align the roof pieces, too.
I don’t regret buying Rivendell, though, as it’s my favorite set from Lego (oh, and the botanical roses and 💐, winter sets…ok, I like Lego a lot, so I must be biased).😊
There are pros and cons to buying knock offs. I would normally only get sets that have already retired, like the modulars.
I absolutely love this set, even knowing very little about Lordof the Rings, it was all the great details and colors that caught my eye. If I was a Lord of the Rings fan, I probably would have wanted only the original but I thoroughy enjoyed this none the less. Thank you for sharing.
I'm building another off-brand brand's version right now and even though there are always some random little parts missing or substituted, I'm so happy I get to experience building this set. I'm about 65% done now after building a little bit at a time for the past couple of days, and it's been a blast. The only thing that feels bootlegged about this is the minifig head prints, somehow it's a law that those always have to be dismal.
I agree. The difference in quality is more than made up for in the price. The feelings I get building Lego all transferred to this clone set. It was really enjoyable. Thanks for the comment. 🙂
Great review! Have never bought anything from Aliexpress before but I'm thinking of getting alt bricks from there now. How safe is it and what are the safest ways to buy from there?
AliExpress can be tricky if your not familiar with the platform. This is a link to a excellent guide for buying bricks on AliExpress. docs.google.com/document/d/1TApv0EhSMiZsrqH1xZxDE7LLSGgZPIlAmmiujHfq2U0/edit?pli=1#heading=h.w7p6vvm9th9k
Try checking out some independent retailers like Cada decadastore.com/collections/cada-bricks
or Youmko youmko.com/
Before you do any of this, you REALLY should check out the Reddit Lepin Starter Guide, it is a long read but this info and so much more can be found in it. www.reddit.com/r/lepin/comments/lqdiar/the_starter_guide/
Start with a small purchase until you find a place you are comfortable.
Thanks for the feedback. 😊
As ALWAYS, I loved the video. So much so, that I'm going to go ahead and order one. Now you said you ordered it from AliExpress, correct? Again, the price is usually always good from them, but the delivery time scares me. How long did it take you to receive it and did you go standard shipping or expedited? Any advice on using them? Thanks and keep these great videos coming. Love them.
It took about 3-4 weeks to arrive with regular shipping. We don't buy much on Ali anymore, our trusted seller has closed shop and others didn't have ratings I was comfortable with. Resellers like Youmko, Herotoyz(Save 7% if you use code SheClicksBricks), or Jooooy offer us better piece of mind especially for things like shipping or piece replacement. These shops offer different shipping options(local warehouses or speeds) and accept paypal. You may need to create an account to see the replica sets. I hope this helps. Thank you for your support🥰
@@SheClicksBricks Thank you so much. I will give the sellers you mentioned a shot. I really am not a fan of AliExpress, but their prices are enticing. But if these other sellers are just as competitive, I'm in. Thanks again...........Tommy
@@tommyloreto6458 Your Welcome😊
Looks beautiful. Very tempting.
Thank you. It is a slipperry slope. Exercise caution 😅
Did you find all capes together? I cannot find the light blue one for Sam. Most were inside the booklet, but have not found the light blue one yet
I did actually have all the capes. They were all in the booklet but very loosly in between the pages.
Thank you for the video!! I’m thinking about picking one of these up from Aliexpress, and your video was perfect!! Also, if you haven’t already, I would highly recommend watching the lord of the rings movies. Start with the normal theatrical editions, and if you like them then try out the extended versions!!
Glad you found it helpful. If you cant find it on Ali, try HeroToyz or Youmko. If you use discount code SheClicksBricks at HeroToyz, you will save 7%. I did end up watching the first one. I was really good.😊
Bought this one and another big set on temu. I’m totally cool with the quality, get this one for 120,- usd. Never would have bought the Lego one for around 500,-
As beautiful as the set is, the Lego price is tough to justify.
I apologize if I asked this already, or maybe just missed it, but who did you say you bought this set from? I was on Joy's site and was going to buy it, but they had a different way of using Paypal and I was a little skeptical. I always use PayPal when shopping online, but this time you had to go to their Paypal site, and again, I was a little leary of that. Have you used PayPal on their site with no problems?... Thanks...........
This was an Aliexpress purchase. Herotoyz and Youmko both have the traditional PayPal. Not sure why joy is like that. I do get it, It is important to be comfortable with your purchase.
@@SheClicksBricks Thank you............
@tommyloreto6458 Any time. I'll help if I can. Have you checked out Lepin sub category on reddit? They have so much info in the pinned starter guide. I am on Lepin daily, just reading and learning.
@@SheClicksBricks, I haven't done so yet, but I will. Again, thank you so much for all your advice. I'm so sorry, but I didn't catch your first name. Every time I thank you, I want to address you by your name but I don't know it. :-)
@@tommyloreto6458 Hi Tommy, my name is Stacey. Your very welcome🥰
Thanks for posting this. This is something I recently started to look into with my son growing older, and LEGO frankly is out of their mind with their pricing. The legal issues (allegedly) aren't a priority for me personally, if the "knock offs" are an issue. Lego can sort it out in court. Haha.
Its great to see that I can share this hobby with him without busting the bank.
You are very welcome. The pricing of Lego forced us in this direction as well. Welcome to the dark side🤣. If you are just getting into this side, I recommend you check out this video to help speed up the learning curve. ruclips.net/video/G2bJl0_fzNs/видео.html and check the links in the description to find some trusted sellers and other great resources. Here is a little something extra: Companies(Brands) that use GoBricks are very high quality and extremely tough to tell the difference with Lego. i.e. Pantasy, Mould King and Funwhole. Companies( Brands) like Cobi, Cada and LesDiy use there own bricks and the quality is still excellent. Most Lego knockoffs are done by other companies Such as Jiestar, King and Leji. The brick quality isn't as good, but still well beyond acceptable to for the most part. Thank you for the support.🥰
You are amazing! Thank you for your help ❤
@@thaddeuscosse9527 Your Welcome, anytime🥰
Thanks for posting this, saw them on Temu. What are others Large size non.lego sets you'd be getting next ?
Maybe if you subs those connecting pieces with Lego part if any improvement
Your welcome.
We are actually running a poll right now on the community page to decide the next build. We also posted a short. I would love your input. 😊ruclips.net/user/shortshNmtzFAgjwQ?si=CD_QeFzdJKfs5Vsz
Thank you for the Tip.😊
Thank you for the support 😊
This was really interesting, thank you 👍
Thank you. Thank you for your support. 😊
@@SheClicksBricks you're welcome, this is the first video I've seen of yours, really enjoyed it, thank you 😁
Thank you🥰. That is so nice of you to say. I hope to see and hear from you in the future. Feedback is always good to hear, positive certainly makes me feel good and negative feedback can make me better😊.
@@SheClicksBricks Well I don't think the internet needs anymore negativity floating around so let's keep it all positive 👍. Well you have a new subscriber so no doubt I will be around. Have a great day!
@@TALON80s So kind, thank you 😊
After waiting almost two months my fake Rivendell set finally arrived from China. Cant complain for $76. Can I ask, did yours come in three big bags with multiple bags inside ??
Wow. That is a long time but glad to hear it finally arrived. 🥰 We actually paid a bit extra to get a printed box so from what I remember, it was packed just like Lego.
@SheClicksBricks yea that was the longest I have ever waited. Most stuff comes in 7 days. I watched your unboxing vid and mine must be a different brand as the bags look different and the instructions are smaller. I use the lego app anyway so no biggy.
@@grant666uk The popular K.O. sets get remade all time time and the quality almost always improves with the remakes. I have my fingers crossed you got a good one. Do you happen to know who made yours?
@@SheClicksBricks it would seem to be the KING 61301 version. A newer one by the looks of it.
@@grant666uk Nice, The Kings sets we have built have been great.
Lego sets today quite often average 7-9 cents per part cost. Maybe cheaper with points and freebees. 40+ years ago when I started receiving Lego sets the per piece average was about 10-13 cents. What has changed the most is the number of pieces that come in each set. A large set 40 years ago was 500 pieces. Today a 500 piece set would look lame when put up against Rivendale. If a person wants to gripe then go right ahead and buy that 200-300 piece set that is cheaper today than 40 years ago while everything else in life increases with inflation...the per piece cost leading to high set prices is not the issue like so many believe. Its just larger and larger sets being produced. Without Lego producing these sets and the purists who will buy them then all these chinese vultures would simply have nothing to produce. Also consider that Lego absorbs all the design costs while the chinese just suck off the rear tit
Cause and effect🤔. I will add that many of the Chinese manufactures also produce their own licensed sets, and the price difference is still questionable. CaDA Bricks has a licensed F1 car(Alfa Romeo) that is much better than the Lego F1 Maclaren (hubby built them both) and is $100 cheaper. Thank you very much for sharing 😊.
I have a few off brand sets. Aside from the minifigs, the quality has been good for the price, but not quite to LEGO standards. This is a halo set for me, and as much as it’s going to hurt, I’m going to have to drop the $$$ for the real deal on this one. It’s going to be the pinnacle of my collection. I’m waiting for a good purchase promo.
You will love the build🥰. It was amazing and so much fun. It also looks great on display.
Only apparently this this cheaper then Lego. The lego set will retain its value and even grow in 5 or 10 years. After the same period of time i'm not sure you can sell this set with a profit like the Lego's one.
I agree. I doubt this set has any significant resale value.
If the original ends up costing a grand and you sell a knock off for half that, even if second hand, there will be some people interested. There are a lot of old sets that are hard to find and I'd be willing to buy if someone made good-enough similar-looking knock-offs.
@@LutraLovegood You have a good point😊. Jiestar and King make decent knockoffs. There a few others as well. Youmko and Jooooy are my current go to resellers. The sub reddit Lepin has an excellent starter guide for Alternative Bricks
I can't believe it's not lego!
I know.. right? 😀
See how much money Lego is making? I know they have to pay designers and all that, but it's still a huge difference. I have a few knock offs as well and you can barely tell the difference. Great buy! Replace the clip with a real Lego one from bricklink.
The mark up is certainly hard to ignore😒. I have Alternative brick sets of retired Lego sets(Modulars) and I have no issue with them building or presenting them. This was my first time getting one that is still in production and it wasn't an easy decision. But ultimately it is part of my journey and as such we documented it. Thank you for the clip tip and the the support. 🥰
Tony, by buying and showing this kind of rip off sets this channel actually makes Lego more expensive because they have to lawyer up even more.
I like competition and the more brands bringing sets the better.
But ripping off designs from Lego (or even from MOCreators) is a real sad thing.
I can’t stand it.
I kinda liked the review but i won’t come back to this channel
How do much do you think AliExpress and resellers on AliExpress are making? On top of that: they're making it by stealing other peoples work...
The build looks like you could just Download the Rivendell Lego Instructions and put it together. The pieces and build look identical. Nice to see that there are more companies out there putting out the quality for a more affordable price. The clip issue is not much different with Lego set either. I had to go through a few of my stash extra clips to see if I could get a better connection. The printed though not as vibrant, still looked good. The beard/hairpiece issue with the dwarves is a big miss though sadly, but then for how much you saved, you could buy the actual minifigs and still be ahead.
The online Lego instructions do match step for step. I did not know that about the clip. Thank you.
People are being priced out of Lego, and that is a problem Lego needs to address. Thank you for your support. 😊
Considering when Lego FIRST started they technically made copies of Kiddicraft blocks and sold them under a different name, so why is it any different now?? And there is no reference on the LEGO website of LEGO) acknowledging they took their inspiration from Hilary Page, the founder of Kiddicraft. Morally and ethically I see no issue in buying dupes from other companies until such a time that LEGO openly states on their website WHERE they got their "brick" idea from.
And saying you have an issue with it is like saying you have an issue with a major supermarket selling apples and the local corner store selling apples. An apple is an apple. One is more affordable than the other. One might be green and one might be red. But an apple is an apple - regardless of where it is sold 🤷🏼♀
This makes a lot of sense. Many Lego supporters don't seem to know the Kiddiecraft story. I love how you think. Thanks for the support🥰
Looks great for Non Lego ♥
Haha. LEGO Mike! Welcome back & thanks 💗
I wander if you expected to backlash with this set. It is true that this being a direct copy is a terrible ripoff but living in Asia I know what this supports and Lego would have no part of. From us Lego fans it is the part that scares us of the fakes. Yes they do get out this way.
It certainly is controversial and to be honest some backlash was expected. It has sparked some fantastic conversation from both sides. Thank you for your comment. 😊
Thanks for the review. I've been building fake lego for years. I refuse to pay there insane prices. This is my next buy.. its only $80 these days.
I am so happy to find these alternative options and I realy wanted this set. I just could not justify the price. Itnwas a great build and I hope you enjoy it. $80 is Amazing!!! Thank you for sharing ☺
Amazing, looks just like the lego version. Definitely a great buy.
Thank you. I love it. 😀
Some of these comments are interesting. It should be understood that LEGO loses nothing here. They were already not going to get a sale from folk turning to alt-bricks. So if anything a person that may have missed out now has a chance to get a legit copy cause another person didn’t buy it. But if it’s so wrong why are MOC instructions being sold for licensed items? Take for example a UCS Star Wars Ghost. LEGO has never made one but it does have a license owner. I guarantee you the MOCer is not paying Disney/Lucasfilm any royalties. But theyre happy to sell you the plans for their benefit only. Where is the outrage for something like that? By the very same metric it’s just as wrong. Same goes for folk selling custom clone trooper helmets. Doesn’t matter if it’s from legit LEGO pieces, once a third party sells it LEGO is no longer in the transaction loop and no royalties are being paid to the license holder either. Calling it custom doesnt not make it IP appropriation. Same metric but not a peep from the folk disapproving of alt bricks. We have a word for that in English.
This is very well thought out and makes a lot of sense. I was never paying $650 for Lego Rivendell. The Alt brick one fit our budget, so we got it. I was never buying private plane but flying economy fits my budget. Thank you for sharing and Thank you for your support.🥰
Awesome video, great info on the Jiestar Riverdell. Excellent review, love seeing more people talk about alternative brands. I primarily buy alternative brands myself, such as Pantasy, funwhole, Cada, Mould king and Reobrix. Keep showing the world, alternative brands😊
Thank you so much for the compliment. Your support is appreciated. ❤️ I started out with LEGO but for as much as I like to build , I am happy to have found a more cost effective alternative.
This isn't an "alternative brand", COBI, BlueBrixx, etc. are "alternative" brands. This is theft.
I have no issue with off brand bricks, but direct copies of Lego sets is just wrong and unethical.
I completely understand. I myself have no problem buying off brand of retired Lego sets, but a set currently in production, this was new territory for me. 🤔
lego prices are wrong and unethical
@@ivan2894A spectre is haunting the lego community... >:)
I could never afford sets like Rivendell and Lion Knights' Castle, so if you're worried about the big corporation losing money, that's probably not true for most people who are buying these. It's either off-brand or nothing at all, nobody's losing any money because of me. The president of Lego's net worth is $6.75 billion, don't worry about him. Let me have access to these sets.
its made from precision made pieces, its relatively good value compared to other toys like little ponies or barbies or same plastic cars. @@ivan2894
real Lego or bust.
Actively promoting a company that directly rips off another company is a disgrace. The reason this set is $200 vs the $600+ is JieStar does not pay for the LOTR licensing nor does it pay the countless Lego designers that no doubt worked over a year to pull the original design off. I see you are not affraid of reviewing other direct Lego copied sets. I hope Lego reaches out to you and educates you the harm copyright infringment does to a company and it's customers. Before you complain about how expensive real Lego has gotten, it's because of shadey companies like JieStar that drive the prices up on authentic Lego sets and makes it harder to attract quality designers with original creative ideas to come and work for them.
You have some good points and all points in which I have wrestled. Lego has no direct competition and therefore charge what they want. I would argue as much if not more goes into video game design and production i.e. Madden, FIFA etc., Yet they are a fraction of the price of this Lego set. There is a debate that needs to be had, I am just not sure this is the place. I respect your comment and hope you comment on more videos in the future. Healthy conversation is always encouraged. 🙂
There are licensed LOTR videogames that took more people multiple years to design and they were priced $60 at most. Add the $200 worth of plastic and prints and you're not even halfway there.
It's insane that you blame other companies for Lego's prices when they make a new profit record in the billions every single year. And yet they still decided to raise their prices, all while spending less money on the actual production, with prints disappearing, more colour consistency issues, moving factories from Europe to China, etc.
It's very naive to assume that Lego raise the prices because they "lawyer up" for legal battles with knock-offs from Asia. I don't appreciate complete copies of complex Lego sets with great designs but I understand why some people are going to pick this over much more expensive original set. To each their own, people vote with their money and for some it's a better option to settle on cheaper knock-off with lesser quality than not to buy anything at all. Also I'm sure Jie-Star won't be making a bank with this set, it's still quite expensive and pretty niche for sales to be really big.
The president of lego is worth 6.5 billion and is the richest person in Denmark. Oh no but now he is poor because someone couldn't afford his overpriced products and got an affordable copy. It's true. I just called Denmark and they say Kjeld Christiansen is now on welfare, directly because of this video.
@@zibberebbiz 🤣🤣
A direct copy? Y’all are gross.
It's not for everybody. Thank you for your feedback. 😊
If its cheaper than legos then great. Legos version is soooooooo much money.
Thanks for the support. 😊 In my area, a PS5 is the same price as the Lego Rivendell.
@@SheClicksBricks in mine, it's an extra $100 more than a PS5 lol I'm glad that there's another option that is just as beautiful and fun.
@maddievictoria4947 Ouch, expensive plastic. I agree. It does have its flaws, but for the price, it is hard to ignore.